Rorisang Kgosana reports that in Zambia, patients do have some expectation of privacy even in public places. That position, of course, is different than what happens here in the U.S., where although it may be tasteless at times, there is no bar to filming an accident scene or victim with your smartphone if it’s in a public place or on a public road. Kgosana reports:

With the convenience of smartphones and social media, the public is always on standby to capture images of what it sees or seems wrong with society.

The community of Centurion was enraged last week, when a resident was stopped by paramedics from taking a video of an accident scene on Jean Avenue.

Residents believed they could film the scene as it was in a public space.

The Health Profession Council of SA (HPSCA) said however, accident scenes could only be filmed by those responsible for management of the collision scene for the privacy of victims.

Spokesperson Priscilla Sekhonyana said the National Health Act stated that all patients had the right to confidentiality as it was consistent with the right to privacy in the Constitution.